Electric refining furnace



T. F. BAILY ct. 14, w3@

ELECTRIC REFINING FURNACE Filed Jan. 28, 1928 Illini-'f gnou/Moz mi@ y www@ @atented @ein 14, w31@ THIBEUS El. BML?,

Application filed January 23, 192s. aerial No. 25053531.

rlhis invention relates to electric furnaces for melting and rening metals and the like, and more particularly to a furnace wherein all or a portion of the heat is developed by 3: electric resistance in a resistor composed of a molten slag which may or may not be of such composition as to perform a metallurgical treatment such as refining.

ln the past, various forms of electric arc and resistance furnaces'have been constructed wherein the slag carried current but in this furnace the length of travel through the molten slag is such as to form' a resistor which may be maintained at any desired teml perature. K

The object of the improvement is t0 provide a furnace in which the 'metal or other material to be treated will be charged-at the top of t e furnace and passed down through the mol en slagresistor and, havin been superheated or refined, collects in the bottom of the furnace and, being a better conductor of electricity than the slag, ceases after passing through the slag, to form any material resistance to the iiow of electric current and hence no undue superheatino'.

Another object of this invention is that if after a molten slag has been obtained and it is desired to melt material, the voltage on e0 the furnace may be increased and an arc established above the slag, and solid materials that are to be treated' or melted may be charged in at the top of the furnace on top of the sla where they will float until re- @5 duced to the melted condition, after which they will pass down through thevslag.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which The hgure is a vertical section ofthe imn proved furnace.

Similar numerals refer to similar parte throughout the drawing.

The furrwe be the type, as 31ml illustrated, aving the s ei l, and refractory lining 2, provi-ded wit' the chargn ine' opening ts upper erin,

L. a at 1 ay ce provided at Fw? l 7 ine pouring L L e .cw the lower end portion oi the iurnace, having f' 1 #J v :A T 1 I: i t "nlug o, wlnen remo veo, to um charge the contents of the furn de, or any desired portion thereof.

sin electrode 6' may be located in the lower end of the furnace and in the same circuit with the movable electrode 7, which entends down through the charging opening at the molten steel, for instance for phosphorus, a

molten oxidizing slag is produced in the furnace, preferably by allowing the to'p electrode 7 to extend down in the empty furnace until an arc is formed with the bottom electrode 6, in the position shown in broken lines in the drawing. An oxidizing slag-making material indicated at 8 is then fed into the furnace and melted by the arc above mentioned and as the molten slag level rises with the further addition of slag, the upper electrode is moved upwards, continuing to melt the fresh sla and maintain the molten ,slag in the mate condition byl resistance. y

When the molten slag reaches the desired height, the upper electrode is allowed -to form Contact with the molten. slag without an arc as shown inthe drawing, and sufficient current is maintained to keep the slag at the desired temperature.

S21/leiten metal is then fed into "he furnace at the top and passes down through molten slag in a small stream or streams, that there isa large amount of slag surrounding the molten at all times as it pa through the slag, incree ngthe rapidity with v'f'hich the refining off the metal is ac compiished as compared with ordinary metallurgical practice where the surface of metal erposed to slag is only small proportion of that as indie 1 by this process.

The molten me 4 rough the slag, wi

and may be withdrawn from time to time, by

removing the plug from the pouring spout.

As the slag becomes saturated with impurities picked up from the metal to be .relined it all or a portion of it may be tapped olf a ter the metal is removed and in the case of 'where 'only a portion of the slag is removed, additional slag may be` fed in at the top and melted as in the case of starting.

It is to be understood that in the case of melting scrap steel ,for instance, the most desirable class of material to melt in this furnace will be light turnings or light scrap material, which, due to its finely divided condition, will not readily sink through the slag.

' When melting the scrap material in the furnace, the upper electrode may be pulled 'up, outyof the slag, roducing an arc at this -point which will rapidly melt down the scrap material floating uponthe top ofthe slag, causing the molten metal to pass downward through the slag, as above described.

. vIt is further to be understood that such solid material as may get into the slag will cool the slag somewhat and due to the fact that the resistivity of slag increases with theA decreasing of temperature, such cooling eect as mentioned will serve to increase the electric resistivity and hence the heat input in suchportion. v

The furnace as indicated above may have a length much greater than the diameter thereof and as shown in the drawings, the

length of the shaft type furnace may be somel 8 or 9 times the diameter of the furnace while the molten slag resistor column may have a length of some 6 or 7 times the diameter thereof. Also the diameter of the electrodes is preferably substantially one-half, more or less, of the diameter of the furnace.

Thus the current passing through the molten slag resistor between the two electrodes passes equally substantially throughout the entire length and breadth of the molten slag resistor thereof is maintained substantiallythe same throughout all portions thereof. By controlling t e current passing between the elec-1 trodes, the temperature of the molten slag'` resistor may be controlled.' Consequently the refining operation performed in such a struccontrolled.

Y v 'three times its greatest dimension in cross ture is uniformly accomplished and easily l claim:

l. A resistance type furnace including `walls forming a rening chamber having a uniform cross section throughout its length, an electrode at each end :of the chamber, a molten slag resistor within thechamber extending between the electrodes, 'the molten resistor column having a length of at least section, and the greatest dimension of the electrodes in cross section being substantially equal to one-half of the greatest dimenmon and the temperature v Leraars of the resistor column in cross section, whereby when an electric current is passed between the electrodes through the resistor, the temf erature of the molten resistor will be uniorm throughout the entire body of molten slag resistor.

2. A resistance type furnace including walls forming a vertical refining chamber having a uniform cross section throughout In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

THADDEUS F. Banjr.' 

